moth·er·ly

[muhth-er-lee]
adjective
1.
pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting a mother; maternal: motherly solicitude.
2.
like a mother: to take a motherly interest in an orphan.
adverb
3.
in the manner of a mother.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English moderly, Old English mōdorlīc. See mother1, -ly

moth·er·li·ness, noun
un·moth·er·ly, adjective
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
motherly (ˈmʌðəlɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
of or resembling a mother, esp in warmth, or protectiveness
 
'motherliness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Motherly is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

motherly
O.E. modorlic; see mother + -ly (1).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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